Columbus Day: Expeditionary Force, Book 1

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.

A Touch of Deceit: Nick Bracco, Book 1

FBI agent Nick Bracco can't stop a Kurdish terrorist from firing missiles at random homes across the country. The police can't stand watch over every household, so Bracco recruits his cousin Tommy to help track down this terrorist. Tommy is in the Mafia. Oh yeah, it gets messy fast.

The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch - hero, maverick, nighthawk - the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal. The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.

Genesis: Arisen, Book 0.5

Tucked away in a high-tech Tactical Operations Center, inside an isolated safehouse in the Horn of Africa, sits Agency analyst Zack Altringham. He is Kenyan-born, Princeton-educated, badly burnt-out - and condemned by his language and cultural skills to a lifetime of fighting America's shadow counter-terror wars.

The Tide

Captain Dominic Holland leads a crew of skilled covert operatives and talented scientific personnel. He's taken them to all corners of the Earth to protect the United States from biological and chemical warfare. When his CIA handler, Meredith Webb, gives him a mission to investigate a disturbing lead on a laboratory based out of an abandoned oil rig, they discover the most terrifying threat to mankind they've ever faced - a genetically engineered biological weapon called the Oni Agent.

Xom-B

Freeman is a genius with an uncommon mixture of memory, intelligence, and creativity. He lives in a worldwide utopia, but it was not always so. There was a time known as the Grind - when Freeman's people lived as slaves to another race referred to simply as "Master". They were property. But a civil rights movement emerged. Change seemed near, but the Masters refused to bend. Instead, they declared war. And lost. Now, the freed world is threatened by a virus, spread through bites, sweeping through the population. Those infected change - they are propelled to violence, driven to disperse the virus.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

The Brainrush Trilogy: Box Set

Before he slid into the MRI machine, Jake Bronson was just an ordinary guy with terminal cancer. But when an earthquake hits during the procedure, Jake staggers from the wreckage a profoundly changed man, now endowed with uncanny mental abilities. An ocean away, Luciano Battista wants a piece of Jake's talent. The terrorist leader has been conducting cerebral-implant experiments in a sinister quest to create a breed of super jihadist agents...and Jake's altered brain may be the key to his success.

Huntress Moon

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can't believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of accidents and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.

Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

The Oedipus Plays: An Audible Original Drama

The three Theban plays by Sophocles - Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone - are one of the great landmarks of Western theatre. They tell the story of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who was destined to suffer a terrible fate - to kill his father, marry his mother, and beget children of the incestuous union. He does this unknowingly but still has to suffer terrible consequences, which also tragically affect the next generation.

Publisher's Summary

Artemus Black. Perennially down-on-his-luck Hollywood PI whose Bogie fixation is as dated as his wardrobe. With an assistant who mocks him relentlessly, an obese cat that loathes him, a romantic life that's deader than Elvis, money problems, booze, nicotine, and anger management issues, how much worse can it get? When he takes a case that's supposed to be easy money working for a celebrity whose colleagues and surrounding paparazzi are dropping faster than interest in the star's big comeback, the cakewalk turns ugly and Black finds himself in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder - and bad hair days. The first in a new series from best-selling author Russell Blake, Black is a detective mystery with a difference that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.

Clever, fast banter, reminds me of Cary Grant in His Girl Friday. And very much Luke that movie, the characters and their relationships overshadow the story.

It's a good mystery but the novel, like its title is really about its hero. Black is Artemis Black, a thirtyish ex rocker turned PI. He has a sardonic, goth rock, young assistant running his office, and its her and her obese cat Mugsy that keeps Black grounded.

There are laughs at every turn, all at Black's expense. I liked it. Frankly I can use the lift.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

PATERSON, NJ, United States

02/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Roxy is a must have for the entire series"

I love the dialogue between Roxy and Black.. without her this may have been a 3 star listen for me. The only reason I sought this one out is because of the narrator and like always he did an excellent job.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Maggie May

Georgia

04/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent 21st Century Noir"

Fedoras, Dames, and Everything! A book for Goldilocks. Not too heavy, not too light. The bantered dialogue was intelligent and didn't try to hard and was carried off beautifully by narrator R.C. Bray.

In fact, Bray did a terrific job with all his characters, ranging from heavies to heroes to hippies to ... okay, I don't know a good 'H' word for little old ladies.

This is a great start to a new series. I'm so glad it came my way.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Mel

Raleigh, NC, United States

02/09/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Mike Hammer of The New Millenium"

Sure. The genre of a street-savvy hand-to-mouth LA P.I. amid the seedy under belly of Sunset Strip is a familiar one. No new ground broken there. .... Where Blake's "Black" scores so high is the non-stop snappy repartee between Black and pretty much all the sideshow carney-esque characters he encounters. .... going immediately to Book Two and Beyond.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Carnation, WA United States

20/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Absolutely perfect, sharp and witty"

Black is an incredible listen, and is voiced perfectly by the talented RC Bray. The dialogue is sharp, the plot moves swiftly and unpredictably, and the jokes are timed perfectly. This is an excellent story and I look forward to listening to the rest of the Black series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Akela

Russia

01/01/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"monotonous and boring"

Would you try another book from Russell Blake and/or R.C. Bray?

No.

Would you recommend Black to your friends? Why or why not?

No.

Would you listen to another book narrated by R.C. Bray?

May be.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

It is a monotonous narration of a monotonous attempt at a cinematic noir. Might be better in paper form, not sure. An obvious attempt to create a ready movie script (with all the moves and jests and even eye movements described to a smallest detail - as a result, a rather boring book happened.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wayne

Matthews, NC

17/10/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great narration of good novel"

The story is interesting mostly because of wise cracking by Black and his office manager Roxy. The narration by RC Bray is incredibly good. This private investigator series has real potential so I'll listen to at least one more novel.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Jan

United States

10/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"PI Black is retro and current together"

Both written and performed in the noir style set in the Hollywood area. Solid linear plot with some interesting twists. Lots of quirky characters, but no details/spoilers to be found here. Just know that it is a very interesting read, but best served up in segments.RCB gives an excellent audio performance using noir voice cadences and inflections that really add to the tone of the novel.This book was given in exchange for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ashley

05/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A nice suspense novel - with a nice twist"

What made the experience of listening to Black the most enjoyable?

The characters were interesting and realistic. Loved loved the extreme difference in how his secretary viewed his wardrobe and how he did.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Black - because he appeared to almost be a different person when with the each of the other characters. Tolerant with his secretary. Irritated with his therapist. Professional and bossy with his client...etc.

What does R.C. Bray bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice changes

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed and told Black out loud what NOT to do.

Any additional comments?

I loved it... but I only give 5 stars to books I would re-read or listen to twice, those are extremely rare. So from me this gets just about the very best rating.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Elizabeth L.

Liberty, SC, United States

06/05/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"."

What did you love best about Black?

I really liked that Black was 'human'. He had everyday struggles both in his professional and personal life. I enjoyed his relationship with Roxie and hope that this continues in future books.

What did you like best about this story?

I really like how the author was consistent with Black's character. The mystery was interesting and I really didn't see the answer until it was told to me. I like that in a mystery.

Have you listened to any of R.C. Bray’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the 3rd book by Mr. Bray that I have listened to. He is a very relaxed reader who can draw you into the story. I think that he adds to the authors words with his performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

While the book was rather long (not a problem by the way), I don't think I could have listened to it in one sitting. The chapters were placed in good breaks in the story and it was easy to get back into the book when I came back to it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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